Note: Sorry didn't update sooner. Been a little busy. Will never abandon this story. Never give up, never surrender! Stick with me and keep up! :-)
It was around 10:30 A.M. when Brigid gave a small scream when she bumped into Larten, yet again, at the top of the stairs. She held a hand over her heart and leaned on the banister.
"Why do you always do that?!" Brigid growled at him.
"Why do you never pay attention to your surroundings?" Larten snapped back.
"Well, why are you up this early? During the daytime, sneaking around?" Brigid shot back.
"I am not sneaking around." He said through gritted teeth. "I woke up and decided to come down and see if I could be helpful in any way."
"So basically you're grouchy no matter what time you wake up. Good to know." Brigid said as she flipped her hair up to put it in a ponytail.
"Move." she said, brushing past him into her bedroom and shutting the door.
Larten pursed his lips unil they were only a thin line. "Children!" He huffed.
"Larten?" He heard his voice called from downstairs.
He leapt down from the top stair to the bottom and breezed into the kitchen. Erin looked up and gave a start.
"Oh, geez! I know I should be used to it by now, living with a vampire, but you make my heart jump every time you just appear out of nowhere." She laughed, a hand on her chest.
"I am glad to know my vampire abilities are still up to par." He smirked smugly.
"Yes, they are definitely up to code." Erin said as she placed the thawed steaks into a pan to marinate for the whole day. She was somewhat proud that she could make a mean steak.
Larten came over to the pan and before she knew it, he had taken a piece of raw steak and swallowed it right then and there.
"What are you doing?!" she said as she swatted his hands away. "You can't just it completely raw like that! You'll get sick!"
Larten smacked his lips and gave knowing grin. "I was eating raw meat long before I was even a vampire. Cooked meat was considered a rare treat. Even now, if I were to hunt say a deer or something, I would eat it raw. It is the natural order and if it is good enough for nature's creatures then it is good enough for us vampires."
Erin gave him a look. "If you'd rather eat raw steak that's fine by me, I won't bother going through all the trouble to astound you with my seasoning skills if it's no big deal to you."
"That is not what I was trying to infer. I look forward to having it prepared by your masterful hands." He gave a small bow.
Erin tried to keep a straight face but couldn't stop a smile from showing before turning around.
"May I offer my services in helping around the house?" Larten asked stately.
"There's really not much to do at the moment. Are the curtains really okay? You're not feeling anything as effect from the light in here?"
"As I have said, everything is fine. Stop asking." He huffed in annoyance.
Erin raised her hands in surrender. "No more asking, I promise."
Larten nodded and tugged at the bottom of his red vest straightening it.
"It still amazes me that we were able to get you suit jackets and vests that are all the same red hue! You know the color red very well. You cut quite the figure in everything we were able to get you. And when you wear your cloak, it serves as the perfect finishing touch." Erin said, eyeing him, as she took a sip from her coffee.
Larten plucked at the cuffs of his white shirt and stood at his full height: white shirt, red vest, red pants, and his standard sandals. Yes, he did cut quite the figure he thought proudly. She had a keen eye. And she liked his cloak. That was definitely a plus in his mind. He could not stop the smug smile that split across his face from her compliment.
Erin laughed and his face immediately soured.
"No, no, don't stop smiling. I'm just laughing because I, personally, have not come across many men who know how to dress like you do. I once had an unfortunate blind-date forced on me and he showed up in cargo shorts to the restaurant. He didn't even notice how under-dressed he was and he was dreadfully boorish. I didn't even make it through the whole meal. He said terribly rude things about me to his friends and my mutual friend who had organized the whole thing. Waste of time." Erin shrugged, finishing her coffee. "Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot to ask. Did you want any coffee or something to drink?"
"No, thank you." Larten replied not paying attention to the question. He wanted to hear more about these "dates" and "men" Erin had seen. Charna's guts, he could not help it! He felt something in his chest perk up in jealousy and anger that she would have been treated in such a way. He swallowed the beast back down and tried to be as nonchalant as possible. However, damn himself, subtlety was not his forte.
Larten cleared his throat, not making eye contact, adjusting his shirt collar.
"Is that how a lady is courted in these times?"
Erin broke into laughter. "Sometimes it feels like it. I've never had much time and the few I have gotten closer to, their true colors show within three months or so, even without necessitating a psychic flash, so out the door they go. A couple of heartbreaks but that's just a part of it. You can't close your heart just because of the chance of pain." Erin's face changed and she spoke softly. "Pain can be sweet and make what you had with someone all the more precious in your memories. Then they are always with you. Memories last a long time and you hold onto the bright ones to help you survive the bad ones. Their light breaks through the darkness and you are once again, in a way, united with that person no matter time, distance, space, anything." Erin gave a soft smile as she finished and looked into his eyes. "Although I'm probably preaching to the choir rambling all of that to you. You've been around long enough to hopefully know that." She laughed, jumping up to sit on the kitchen counter.
Larten had looked at his feet the entire time she talked. He couldn't look at her and he couldn't bring himself to look at her now. He knew vampires far older and cubs like he had been who did not have so much as an ounce of truth and maturity as this woman did. He felt a lump in his throat, parts of his past sparking to the front of his mind.
He was relieved when Brigid came bursting into the kitchen. He looked up, his memories forced back and the effect of Erin's words on him deep down into his chest near his heart.
"Erin, can you run to the store and get me some ginger ale?" Brigid said, a hand on her stomach.
Erin jumped off the counter top and went to Brigid. Larten turned around as well to look at her.
"What's wrong? Is your stomach upset?" Erin placed her hand on Brigid's forehead.
"Oh my gosh, I'm not sick-sick, my stomach is just upset. Can you please go get me some ginger ale?" Brigid gave sad eyes.
"Of course. I'll be right back. Keep a trash can by you if you need to."
"I know, I will."
Once Brigid heard the garage door close, she rounded on Larten like a rattlesnake. Larten took a step back, bumping into the island countertop. Brigid was giving him one of the deadliest piercing gazes he had ever seen.
Brigid stared at him. "Did you forget?"
Larten blinked unsure. "I am afraid I do not understand."
"I'll ask again. Did. You. Forget?" Brigid took a step closer. Larten could only look at her in utter bewilderment. "Tomorrow. What's tomorrow, Larten?" Brigid prompted.
Larten wracked his mind and it hit him like a vampire body slam. His golden opportunity!
"Tomorrow is Erin's birthday." He said.
"Yes, good, Larten, very good." Brigid said. "So, what are your plans?"
Larten opened his mouth and then closed it. He opened it once more and said, "I will be asking Erin to join me for a night out. A dinner in honor of her birthday and...I am afraid I do not know what else. I am not acquainted with your town's assortment of entertainment options."
Brigid nodded and shoved two tickets into his hands. "Ballet tickets. La Sylphide. One of her favorites." Brigid narrowed her eyes. "Do you have any objections to going to a ballet like all men do?"
Larten looked at her proudly. "Not in the least. I was alive, you know, when this ballet was first made. Not that I had much time..."
Brigid raised her eyebrows at him. He cleared his throat and he gave a small bow.
"Thank you for helping me. I am entirely in your debt." Larten said sincerely.
"You're welcome. Stop bowing. I've already made dinner reservations and I'm going to give you the money to cover it and some extra in case you actually somewhere deep, deep, deep down have a touch of spontaneity and can find other things to do in order to make her have a very special time." Brigid told him the name of the restaurant, (a fancy Italian place), the time of their reservation, and shoved a wad of cash into his hands.
"I do not need the money." Larten said holding it out for her to take back.
"How do you not need the money? You got a secret pocket in your cloak that just shoots out money magically?" Brigid said, sarcastically.
Larten frowned at her severely. "Let us just say I have a very good head for business."
Brigid sighed. "Keep it anyway. Stop and don't interrupt me! Keep it and after the night is over, give it all back to me. Please, take it just so I can have peace of mind, okay?"
Larten acquiesced and placed the money into his trouser pocket, giving her a sly smile. "Your stomach is not really upset, is it?"
"Of course not! But I didn't want Erin getting suspicious. Before you guys leave I'll be giving Brigid her birthday present and that's when you guys can leave. So ask her tonight when you wake up again and that way I can help her prepare tomorrow during the day for her night on the town with you. Okay?"
"You are quite devious." Larten said.
"You better believe it. Now repeat our plan back to me. This is a two man gambit so we have to be on the same page."
Larten rattled off the chain of events. Brigid nodded.
"Okay, you got it. I will help you seal the deal when you ask her tonight to take her out tomorrow night. You may as well go lay back down and get some sleep and wake up tonight before Erin forces me to bed."
Larten stopped himself from snapping at her for telling him what to do like he was some sort of unruly child but he suppressed it.
As Brigid turned from him to head back down the stairs and pretend to have a stomach ache, Larten called after her.
"What did you buy for her?"
Brigid yelled back from the bottom of the stairs.
"A special book. If you plan on getting her something, too, you'll have to sneak out when the sun goes down to make it to the shops before they close."
Larten entered Erin's dark room and leaned against the closed door, scratching his long scar. His stomach was in conflicting knots. Excitement to finally do something in return for Erin but also how to go about it. He shook himself. He was not some teenage boy but he silently gave thanks to the vampire gods for this lucky chance to truly do something special for her. He thew himself onto the bed placing both of his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He could be spontaneous, he thought grumpily. He would make it an actual night worthy of remembering. Not just for her but for himself, too. Larten smiled in the darkness.